Poker tournaments with $400 buy-ins don’t typically wind up with multi-million-dollar prize pools, but that is precisely what came about in the kickoff event of the 2024 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The low-stakes no-limit hold’em event drew 6,480 entries across its eight starting flights, surpassing the $2 million guarantee by more than $138,000.
The top 650 finishers earned a share of the prize money, with the largest chunk ultimately going to Eric Yanovsky of New York. He overcame the massive field and a tough final table to secure the title and the top prize of $261,920.
“It feels pretty surreal,” Yanovsky told SHR pokerblog reporters after coming out on top. “I’m 22, but poker has been tough. I’ve had my ups and downs, but this is the high point, and I hope it keeps going up from here.”
This victory also awarded 528 Card Player Player of the Year points to Yanovsky. This was his second POY-qualified score of the year. He now has more than $947,000 in career earnings to his name.
Plenty of big names ran deep in this event, including two-time World Poker tour champion James Carroll (35th), 16-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Maurice Hawkins (7th), and 2021 Card Player Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville main event fifth-place finisher Jessica Cai (5th).
Cai earned $73,000 for her strong showing in this event, the largest live tournament score yet for the Florida resident. She now has more than $348,000 in career cashes to her name.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Eric Yanovsky | $261,920 | 528 |
| 2 | Omar Morillo | $173,000 | 440 |
| 3 | Rafael Lopez | $129,000 | 352 |
| 4 | Michael Tarafa | $96,000 | 264 |
| 5 | Jessica Cai | $73,000 | 220 |
| 6 | Bradley Grossman | $55,000 | 176 |
| 7 | Maurice Hawkins | $42,500 | 132 |
| 8 | Kevin Vail | $33,000 | 88 |
| 9 | Caleb Powell | $26,000 | 44 |
Photo provided by Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.
